When it comes to encounters with members of the creative arts, Cathay Pacific can’t seem to be able to catch a break.
Just a week after a judge fined mainland Chinese painter Lee Yuet-fung HKD6,000 for throwing a plastic cup at a Cathay Pacific flight attendant – in a case in which the carrier was described as lacking “virtuous Chinese morals” (albeit by the offender) – another group of artists has slammed the airliner for their inflexible rules on carrying musical instruments.
Margaret Yang, head of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, said that Cathay Pacific’s rules on travelling with musical instruments will make artists think twice about flying with the carrier.
Yang complained after a recent dispute with Cathy involving a small trombone that had to be checked in because airline personnel claimed it was too big to fit inside the overhead compartment of its Boeing 777 airplane.
The Sinfonietta says it gave the airline advance notice of its travel arrangements, and insists that even a much larger trombone could fit in the overhead compartments.
Yang said that the musicians never ran into problems travelling within South Korea and Japan recently – in smaller Boeing 737s no less.
Cathay has responded by saying that artists will need to check in instruments that exceed the allowable size or buy an additional ticket.
Yang said in an interview with the SCMP, “I want to believe that an award-winning airline should be able to understand orchestral travel and can provide flexibility.”
Photo: Michael Rehfeldt via Flickr
